Spring has sprung.. the grass is 'ris.. wonder where the Baseball is? Lakeland!

Yes Sports Fans.. it is time for the annual rite of Spring... Spring Training!

Some old and some new Tigers are in Lakeland Florida once again for Spring Training and the team is expected to compete for the American League title again this year.  Let's hope the expectations are not over-stated, but a close look at the details this Spring should shed some light on whether or not the team can both HIT and PITCH and "FIELD".  Speaking of "fielders"..with the acquisition of Prince Fielder this year hitting is expected to be a strong point, but games are not won on hitting alone.

Games have started and lets look at the Roster in camp.  Below is a list of all the players in camp this year. They are sorted by "ADJ OBA" for Pitchers and "ADJ AVG" for hitters. (see "About ADJ OBA and ADJ AVG" for an explanation)  Numbers listed are career numbers.. either Minor League (italicized players) or Major League (non-italicized players).  "Non-Roster" Invitees are shaded.
  Tigers SpringTrainingRoster(2012)


There are six Minor League pitchers who realistically have a shot at the #5 starting pitching rotation: Wilk, Turner, Below, Oliver, Smyly, and possibly Villarreal.  All of them have over 200 innings pitched at the Minor League level as a starter.  Favorites have to be Turner and Below.. Turner since he is the Tigers hot prospect and started 3 Major League games last year.  Below because he has the most Minor League experience and also put in good innings in the Majors last year.  Wilk has an outside chance since he was very effective in the Tigers bullpen during the several outings he had at the Major league level last year, and his Minor League numbers are absolutely off the charts with 257 strikeouts to only 45 walks!  Oliver is the other lefty prospect the Tigers have been developing, but he doesn't have the luxury of having had any Major League experience in 2011, and might be a long-shot for the last rotation spot.  Villarreal has had some very interesting outings in relief in the Majors for the Tigers, and some were very bad.. so he is probably not ready for the Majors yet either, but should show some promise in camp.  It will be an interesting show to watch between these guys.

Drew Smyly

A dark horse pitcher in camp to watch for is Drew Smyly.  This 22 year old lefty was a starter for the Tigers AA Erie Seawolves, and also for the A+ Lakeland-based Flying Tigers last year and is striking guys out in the minors at a blistering pace..53 Strikeouts in 43 and 2/3 innings for Erie.. and 130 total in only 126 innings of Minor League ball.  With only 36 walks given up in those same 126 innings, it's obvious he's got an arm and the control of his pitches to go with it.  He may be a non-Roster invitee, but expect the Tigers to take a good long look at this young man.

Octavio Dotel

The Bullpen was once again a low-spot for the Tigers last year, particularly in the playoffs.  Valverde has the closer spot locked up solid, but a series of injuries made it hard for anyone except Benoit to show any consistent success in innings 6, 7 or 8.  Probably the best off-season acquisition the Tigers made to address this issue was picking up Octavio Dotel from the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.  Dotel is a veteran and much like Benoit, he should be able to lock down some of the middle-late innings quite well for the Tigers.  The rest of the bullpen has yet to prove itself, and the career numbers for these guys (see above) do not look all that heartening.

Hitting and fielding should be VERY interesting this year.  The Tigers have lost 3 veteran hitters.. Magglio Ordonez to the Oakland A's (rumored), Carlos Guillen to the Seattle Mariners, and Victor Martinez to injury.  These three hitters have a combined 39 years of Major League hitting experience.  That is not something easily replaced, but the Tigers took a BIG step signing Prince Fielder, so it should be interesting to see if the young guys (Boesch, Cabrerra, and Fielder) hitting 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, can step into their own this year as mature hitters.

Inge at 2nd Base

As far as fielding goes there will be an experiment there as well since the infield this year is totally different than last year.  Cabrerra moves to 3rd base where he hasn't played in 4 or 5 years and it will be interesting to see how he handles the "hot" corner which tends to devastate player fielding percentage numbers.  Brandon Inge moves to 2nd and Prince Fielder takes Cabrerra's spot at 1st.  It will be interesting to see if the big guys on the corners have the dexterity to get to the ground balls before they become singles.  If not, it will be a LONG season.  Watching Inge at 2nd should be entertaining since his fielding has never been an issue.. but can he hit?  So far in camp Ryan Raburn seems to want to prove he's not just a summer-time hitter (although the temperature in Florida is what?) and is giving Inge a run for the money for the 2nd base job.  Brandon is in the last year of his contract.. the big question on everyone's mind is still this.. as much of a clutch hitter as he is.. can he hit when his contract is on the line?

That's it for now.. check in next time to see some numbers on these guys.. and we'll see how Spring is wrapping up before the first round of Spring Training cuts.

GO TIGERS!






Photo Credits:
Drew Smyly by Mark Anderson - TigsTown.com
Octavio Dotel and Brandon Inge by Robin Buckson - Detroit News